Elliot´s Trackside Diner - September 2012

[galaxy]

THE DINER IS CLOSED!

Time to Move the diner;

to here:

http://cs.trains.com/mrr/f/88/t/210372.aspx

 

[jeffrey-wimberly]

Been feeling pretty rough today. In fact I've felt like crap since I got up this morning. Took a nap around noon and woke up feeling even worse. I did manage to get part of a makeshift structure for the elevator put together. It's just a few printed wall plates stuck to a box but it at least gives me something to work with.

[galaxy]

JPowell

Who has bought the MR 75yr Collection on DVD? Also, who is going to buy the Special Issue archives that are on DVD?

Hi,

I didn't buy it. I am not interested in having 75 years of a magazine of any type around, be it digital or paper. what was true in the 50s may nto be relevent in the 70s, may not be relevent inin the 90s may nto be relevent today!

BUT, what you could do is  a "search our community" on the right side page margin for it to find some threads on just that topic, OR you could start your own thread and ask the forum population as a whole, not just those of us who frequent the diner...you'll likely get more responses.

~~

Well, I have spent half that day busy and half of it "resting on my laurels"{hmm wonder where that came form?}. I could do more, but I am "resting on my laurels" now to avoid over taxing my back and being in large amounts of pain.

Things will be busy this week. and hopefully the furnace, at any price will be fixed before next Sunday as it will get into the 30s at night then...making frost a likelihood,and a chill will overtake the trailer. WE DO have an oilfilled heater, a small heater and another small heater that can help and the dehumidifier puts out heat too....but not enough in the right places to keep pipes from freezing if it DOES get colder than that and freezes. Hopefully Tuesday it will be fixed!

Other things to do will be a long list of 'Git 'er done' things and some optional things. I can't wait til the 10th to get the next spinal injections in my back to kill pain for awhile!!!

WEll off later guys

 

[JPowell]

Afternoon Gang! Hope this finds everyone doing well.

Have a quick question for everyone...

Who has bought the MR 75yr Collection on DVD? Also, who is going to buy the Special Issue archives that are on DVD?

If you didn't, or are not planning on doing so, and it's NOT because of the prices, why?

[Packer]

Afternoon guys

Sitting here watching the Packer's game. Kind of upset about what happened with three of the girls I was talking to. They all just randomly stop talking to me, and one said "I have a BF , bye" when I asked her if she wanted to hang out. So why did she give me her number last night?

I fiddled with the F-unit's fuel tanks some more yesterday. I found some .08 square rod and it works nicely for filling in the too-large gap between the frame and battery boxes. Although I'm thinking I should have gotten .08 quarter-round instead of .06 so I could have glued it to the back styrene piece. My saving grace might be that on the prototype photo it looks like the battery box is slightly higher than the fuel tank. I'll see how it looks when I pick up the quarter-round later this week.

Carwise, I got the intakes swapped. I would have started exhaust swapping but I got off of work late today.

Chris and Jeff, intresting to note about powders being able to explode. I knew grain elevators could, but all that other stuff. Holy cow.

Anyways, I'll get back to the game. stop in later.

[Anonymous]

I guess Barry is still flat out on the floor, after seeing those prices for the "hanging trains". For a start, you have to cash out about $ 2,000. OK, it is hand crafted, but actually nothing else than good old tin plate trains, nicely done.

I still tinker with my ideas of converting to O scale. That Lenz starter set is just too tempting...

Here is the story behind all ideas:

Hanstedten-West is a BLT set somewhere in northern Germany in the early 1960s. The line is a short one, just connecting the mainline station of Hanstedten with the little town some miles away. Traffic is low on this line, just a daily local freight train, consisting of 3 cars and pulled by one of those infamous Köf Diesel shunters, serving the local trade and industry. Yes, there is some passenger service as well, about a handful of trains, taking kids to school and workers to their work. These trains are usually made up of a "Schienenbus" (rail car), affectionately dubbed "red buzzer" due to the distinct noise it makes. Occasionally, when the rail car is in for maintenance, the train will be a class 64 2-6-2 T, pulling a two old 4-wheeled coaches nicknamed thunder-boxes, and a freight car. More and more traffic is lost to the roads, and the line is earmarked for closure, following Dr. Seebohm´s ideas of improving transport in rural areas by applying the Beeching axe.

Supper time is coming up - I think I´ll go for a big serving of Petra´s Dutch beef stew - that´s chunks of beef, onions, potatoes, carrots and lots of spices all boiled in a broth - delicious together with a glass of !

TTFN!

[howmus]

Mornin' everyone.......

Yawn!  Zoe, I'll have the french toast, use the 12 grain bread if you would, sausage, and lots of dark roast Seneca Lake Blend coffee this morning.  Huh?  Yes use my FGLK Mug and leave the NYS Maple Syrup too.  Thanks!

sakel

Wait... a Kelvin (K) is a measure ot temperature, o kelvis absolute zero, the like. I think the word you are looking for is Lumens

Sakel, right you are!   Kelvin is also a color scale used for the relative color index of light called the CCT.  For anyone interested look here: http://www.venturelighting.com/techcenter/lamps/color_of_light.htm  Lumens is related to but not totally the same as candles in that they both involve the amount of light a source produces.  CRI is a rating of how well a light source relates to a black body resonator (ie: the sun) in producing accurate colors.  So some CFLs I just bought last week would be as follows: 9w, 5100K, 430 Lumens (about the same as a 40w incandescent), with a CRI of 93.  They are considered to be "full Spectrum daylight bulbs".

It is a very gloomy 51°F under drizzly, rainy skies, with a forecast of light rain, drizzle, rain, clouds, and thunder possible with a bit more drizzle and liquid sunshine all day here in the Finger Lakes!  Good day to disappear to the nether regions of the basement and play with trains for a while!  If the drizzle stops for a bit, I need to finish bring in the stuff from the NMRA Meet yesterday.  Still getting some nice messages about the meet BTW.  Nice to have an appreciative group of model railroaders to work with!

Sue, cutting wood?  Are you splitting it by hand as well?   I have about a face cord and a half put away, so I will have to buy more from a local guy here in Geneva.

[edit] Looks like lunch is on me...  Zoe, I'll settle up later this afternoon, OK?

Later!

73

[jeffrey-wimberly]

sakel

Wait... a Kelvin (K) is a measure ot temperature, o kelvis absolute zero, the like. I think the word you are looking for is Lumens

Unless he was referring to color temperature. In that instance kelvin would be correct. The lumen is the unit of luminous flux, a measure of the total "amount" of visible light emitted by a source.

[BRAKIE]

Good Morning All!

Not much to report from the land of Buckeyes other then yesterday I changed out couplers on my Spectrum GE 70 Tonner and program it ..Now one will need some skill running that engine since I set the acceleration and deceleration momentum.These settings isn't for the faint of heart or the Casey Jones type..Now,I need to modernized this unit by removing the footboards and and add a strip of ABS plastic along the bottom of the pilot.

My plans for today calls for moseying over to the club this afternoon.

I shall have a cup and look over the forum.

Have a good'un!

[cudaken]

 Morning Folks

 Yep Flo, coffee to go.

 Sitting here running the trains wondering what kind of day I will have at work? Sure would be nice to get out at closing like last night!

 All so pondering Paul's layout. He was a grade, that sure eats up 14 feet fast. Problem is I don't know if his vision is the same as mine. I like double main lines, so that is what will make this a little harder.

 See you all later

       Ken.

[sakel]

TMarsh

Around 7 to 8,000 Kevin’s in those things. Must be small people to get that many in there.

Wait... a Kelvin (K) is a measure ot temperature, o kelvis absolute zero, the like. I think the word you are looking for is Lumens

[pascaff*]

 Morning All,

  Currently 52 with an expected high of 89 under sunny skies.

   I have the standard Sunday shift today, open at 10:00 close at 6:00 so will go visit hospital after work.

   Waiting for the four  #5 Walthers turnouts, and W.S. Track Bed to show up from Walthers, and the four Switch Tenders to come from Micro Mark, then I can do some more work on the layout.

   Prayers to all in need.

     Paul

[Curt Webb]

Morning All,

Flo I would love another coffee please.

The rest of the family is still snoozing so I have been soldering wire extensions to LED bulbs for some more buildings on the layout. I also framed and hung a drawing of  the PRR S-2 that came in the quarterly PRRT&HS publication. I have to decide if I want to start drilling the holes for the lights or let the others continue to sleep...hmmmm. I think we are going to the movies later.

Ulrich- I looked at that link and with those prices I would  have to win the lottery to even think about it, but it is pretty neat.

JohnBoy- Thanks for the history lesson again.

Hope everyone has a good day and prayers for those in need.

[gear-jammer]

Good morning, Diners.  Coffee, please, Chloe.  I am sore from cutting wood yesterday.  I guess the run before hand didn't help either.

I guess I will put a few sticks on my car shop today.

Sue

[Anonymous]

Barry - I have seen a layout featuring one of those, and I really must say it looked great. Here is a link to the manufacturer with ordering details ...

Hanging Train

Zoe, would you please come here quick, I think Barry has fainted and need the kiss of life

[jeffrey-wimberly]

Good morning. Great weather we have here if you're a duck! Temp: 72°. Humidity 100%. Rainfall 0.07" since 12am. Mostly cloudy. Wind gusts 15 mph ESE.


No outdoor activity planned today. I'm not into water sports. It looks like the wet weather is moving out.

Today I'll likely make some small changes on the wall plates for the grain elevator or I may leave it like it is.

[TMarsh]

Good Morning!!!

Coffee and the breakfast buffet please, Thanks.

I, didn’t stop in yesterday cause I just jumped in and started doing stuff. Thought I’d get an early start. Waste of effort as I doubt I got anymore done than if I’d stopped in here.

Thanks guys for the European bumpers lesson. I didn’t know that about the couplers.

Galaxy- I lived in a trailer….er Mobile ho….er..manufactured home for about 4 years so I know the woes of that. Fortunately, it was a Shult and it had fixtures and the like were standard house sizes so any time there was a repair just a trip to Menards. Furnace I know was for a trailer and water heater I think was special, everything else (excluding windows) was “normal” Never stepped foot in a mobile home parts place. But do call the manufacturer. I know it’s apples and oranges, but when the transmission went out on my old pickup when it was 8 years old with like 43,000 miles and the warranty was for 7 years/70,000 miles, the dealer called Chrysler and they said they’d cover it anyway. Never hurts to ask.

Yes I said the dealer called and that is unheard of because they make less money on warranty than they do selling me the trans and install. (labor is figured different and less when dealing with the manufacturer. They give mechanics less time. Basically reimburse the dealership as opposed to profiting)

Light bulb issue- CFL’s I llllllllike ‘em. Not for any reason other than they last longer than incandescent. The price has come way down from when they first came out and even the cheap Wallworld brands last. Well, mostly . Now you can get them to replace almost any type bulb even, I think, those little chandelierpointy bulbs, though we won’t be using them there, probably end up getting new fixture instead, she has decided she doesn’t like the one in the dining room. It has those and eats those little things like candy. I like the daylight bulbs. Around 7 to 8,000 Kevin’s in those things. Must be small people to get that many in there.

Well things went well with the shower yesterday I suppose. Among the days other activities, I managed to get the backer board up. So I am now almost ready to tile. Why do I say almost, weeeell funny thing, the tile we pic….haha. “We” picked….funny. The tile “we” picked is…..still not back in stock. Now this tile matches the tile that is installed around the tub way back in ’94 and to find the same tile that old is nothing but amazing short of white or black, Ivory, you know those basic colors. This is white with these faint blue streaks kinda like marble but fainter. ANYway, I bought the two boxes left on the shelf because the young feller at Menard’s said yes that was their normal stock and they would get more just like they would a candy bar. (my analogy to which he agreed. Had to explain it first though).  THAT was three weeks ago and none yet. My luck…I just bought the last two boxes made. so I’m not gonna start with these until I get the rest. They do have it in 12X12 tiles, but Brenda wants the 9X12’s. Why? Because the 9X12’s are not in stock silly.

I’ve rambled tooo much. Waaay to much for a Sunday morning, so I’m gonna call it quits without even getting to yesterdays posts yet. Forgive me if I miss something important. I will catch later.

Ya’ll have a good day!!!!

[galaxy]

*grumble* *snort snort* *snffle*

My one eye that is open tells me it is SUnday!!!

GOOD MORNING!!!

Some think our hobby is a  bit NAMBY PAMBY. SO:

Namby Pamby: meaning Childish and weakly sentimental.

Origin

In 1714, the English poet and playwright, Ambrose Philips (1674 - 1749) became tutor to George I's grandchildren. The position gave him a status amongst the aristocracy and he took the opportunity to advance his place in society by writing sycophantic sentimental poems in praise of their children. These were written in rather affected and insipid nursery language, of the 'eency-weency', 'goody-goody' sort. This didn't go down well with his rival poets and playwrights and when, in 1725, he wrote the execrable 'To the Honourable Miss Carteret', he was widely derided:

Thou, thy parents pride and care,
Fairest offspring of the fair
...
When again the lambkins play,
Pretty sportlings,full of May
and so on

His contemporaries Henry Carey, John Gay, Alexander Pope and Jonathan Swift combined the cloying nursery reduplication in Philips' work with his first name and came up with a nickname for him - Namby-Pamby. Carey was the first to put it into print, in the poem Namby-Pamby, circa 1725:

All ye poets of the age,
All ye witlings of the stage …
Namby-Pamby is your guide,
Albion's joy, Hibernia's pride.
Namby-Pamby, pilly-piss,
Rhimy-pim'd on Missy Miss
Tartaretta Tartaree
From the navel to the knee;
That her father's gracy grace
Might give him a placy place.

Pope subsequently made similar fun of Philips in his poem The Dunciad - "Beneath his reign, shall ... Namby Pamby be prefer'd for Wit!"

The term began to be used to describe a style of ineffectual writing soon afterwards; for example, William Ayre, in his Memoirs of the life and writings of Alexander Pope, 1745, writes:

"He [Philips] us'd to write Verses on Infants, in a strange Stile, which Dean [Jonathan] Swift calls the Namby Pamby Stile."

It wasn't long before the direct insult to Philips became a new form of general disparagement and 'namby-pamby' entered the language to refer to anything weak or ineffectual; for example, The Westmoreland Magazine, 1774, refers to "A namby-pamby Duke".

Philips wasn't amongst the first rank of English poets, but some believe the fact that his only lasting contribution to the language as the butt of the disparaging 'namby-pamby' is rather unfair. He was socially unpopular and remained unmarried, poignantly referring in print to 'a broken love-promise', and his unattractive appearance ("of lean make and pale complexion and five feet seven inches high" - Joseph Spence) made him an easy target. However, no less a champion than Samuel Johnson came to his rescue in asserting that "Philips became ridiculous, without his own fault".

Perhaps a kinder epitaph is that 'namby-pamby' was clearly the inspiration for the name of the children's television character Andy Pandy. The puppet was featured in the classic series Watch With Mother  , which was amongst the first television programmes made for children and a mainstay of BBC output in the 1950s.

[blownout cylinder]

Good Morning!!

Weather here be sunny and a little bit of cloud...very dry as well

Hello!! I spent a couple of days cuddled up in bed with the rum toddies and the quilts and now is all better...especially since I just finished the ding dang cancer treatments......now I am all well again!!

Anyways...Ulrich...The HO scale layout over the overhead train looks really interesting....WANT!!!

Off to check the rest of the forums!!

[wetidlerjr]

Good Morning! from Tipton IN.

Sunday, September 30, 2012

Former NKP (LE&W) depot (now NS)-Tipton IN

[Anonymous]

Good Morning Gang!

Sunday! Flo, I´ll have my big Sunday breakfast with all the works, please. Make that hot cakes, sausages, fried bacon, scrambled eggs, buttered toast, a glass of OJ (not the Simpson brand) and lotsa coffee, dear.

Well, the teeth are not acting up as much as they did before. A good "flushing" with some old brandy (didn´t even know I still had that stuff) helped a lot. . I hope it´ll last for the next four weeks.

Ken - click on "view", then select "properties" and there you can select, whether you´d like to have the track drawn as a single, double or double-filled line.

Johnboy - nice reading about the "hanging" trains of Wuppertal. We lived not far away from Wuppertal in my childhood days, so I had the joy of riding these trains a number of times. Actually, I did not feel well doing so, knowing that there is no solid ground underneath my feat gave me a queasy feeling to my stomach. The line is now in its 111th year of operation and sports an all-time low of accidents. The most spectacular accident happened in 1950, when the Wuppertal Zoo used the line to transport a baby elephant to a photo shooting. The poor animal did not like that at all and somehow managed to open a door, falling into the river below, where it was rescued unhurt. To honor the brave baby elephant, all products of the local dairy now bear its name "Tuffy". 1999 saw the first fatal accident, when 5 people got killed  when a train "joined the birds" and fell into the river.

Here are some recent shots:

... and the old "Kaiserwagen" (Emperor´s Car):

Hielscher of Wuppertal produces an HO scale model of this fascinating railroad:

Have a splendid day & TTFN!

[cudaken]

 Evening Folks!

 Flo, why thank you for the

 Work Front Well I can say I did not deal with any Idiots today, just one Butt Head.In fact I all most did not deal with any customers today, I think I had 5? I showed up at 11:00 AM and there was a small flurry and after 3:00 PM I think we had 3 more cars? Bright side was I walked out at 7:12 PM (we close's at 7:00) down side I only made a extra $40.00 in commission. And here I have been wanting to work Saturdays because we are busy? 

 Talked to my new friend Paul in GA tonight. I am helping him with a layout idea based on a 5' X 14' layout. I do enjoy talking with Paul. He is having a rough time with a love one, so lite a candle for him.

 Ulrich I am using the Atlas 8.0 program, how do I make the track a single line? Been a few years and I have forgotten how?  

 Trains are running great tonight! Big Boy is still running well. Got the sound balanced t where it and the Y6 b sound good running with each other.

 See you all later!

 Ken

[AmanaMedic]

Gooooood Evening,

JIM (from Missouri): JEFF described the whole "why grain elevators go BOOM and BOOM! very well!. Here's how persnickity these facilities get to try and keep the big bang from ever happening. The following is Cargill's instructions for UPRR crews switching their Blair, NE facility:

"A: Matches, lighters, igniters or other sources of sparks or flame may not be carried into the elevator. These items and cigarettes, cigars or pipes must be left in a place outside the elevator area. Smoking is absolutely not allowed within the elevator area or within 50 feet of the car or truck unloading area. B: Flashlights - only flashlights and electric lanterns approved by the Company are to be used within the elevator department. C: No internal combustion engines are allowed in the elevator (except locomotive). D: Electrical appliances, such as fans, motors or clocks may not be used in the elevator area."

On another topic, JIM, my home office is the "digital darkroom" and my desk pulls multiple duties including being "the sports desk." I only go to the company office when I absolutely have to: "facetime" or (like tomorrow) to drop-off photo files since they're too large to e-mail and our "free" file transfer service is too time-consuming. I can e-mail my articles to Mr. Boss, and on the weekends I send them direct to our proofreader. Otherwise, I do all writing and photo editing/processing from home sweet home. The benefits? Less wear and tear on my truck, nap time is whenever I feel like it, beer for lunch (or breakfast)? why SURE! Rerun likes having me home too. I do depart my bunker to cover events, and fulfill assignments. But instead of having THAT Editor peeking over my shoulder all day, I get to return home to put it all together. Some would applaud me reducing my so-called "carbon footprint." I don't buy into THAT...I just like setting my own hours, listening to my talk radio (which would make THAT Editor's head explode...), etc., etc. "Saving the planet" has zero to do with it. 

I'll grab a seat at the RC for a bit, haven't done THAT in awhile...in fact, I think I'll have a RBF. Haven't done THAT in awhile either.

Chris (in Iowa)

[kbkchooch]

Seamonster

Ulrich:  I wonder if this would help your toothache.  Is there a product in Germany that mothers rub on their babies' gums when they're teething to ease the pain of the teeth breaking through?  Here, we have a product called Ambesol (I think I spelled that correctly) that is a mild topical anaesthetic that numbs the gums a little to ease the babies' pain.  I've used it on a toothache in the past and it does work, although it's not a strong anaesthetic.  After all it's designed for babies.  One thing, though, don't get any on your tongue.  It will numb the tongue and feels really weird.  

Good whiskey will have the same effect!!!

Good Evening gang!

As some of you know, though most dont, I severed my ties with the local modular club this year. After 19 years, I'd had enough of setting up for shows, dragging 28+ feet of modules, dealing with transportation and set up issues, and the new physical limitations placed on me after having a stroke last year..... Not to mention there were a few newbies that I was about to clobber if left to my own devices.

Besides, I figured it was about darn time I build my own layout

So my outdoor project today was to drag out the trailer that hauled those modules, and get it cleaned up and checked before a possible  sale. 1st item, check wiring. No lights working! Oh wow, finally figured it out, The 4 wire connector fed into the harness, which went into a 7pin plug, then to the lights! Traced the voltage loss to somewhere inside the 7 pin plug, but the screws that held it together were rusted in place. 2 hours later, with drill bits,easy outs, screwdrivers, wire cutters and strippers and a whole lotta blue language, I had her fixed!  Gave the trailer a good scrubbing, checked for leaks (none) and called it a day! Now before I did all this, I posted an email to the clubs group mailbox that I wanted to sell the trailer, along with an old pic and description and my price. After I came back  in I checked my mail, one of the club members replied and he wants the trailer!! Oh boy,,,,,looks like the drop ceiling and flooring expense has just been covered for the layout!!  WooHoo!

Janie,  put a round of whatever everybody is drinking on my tab,,I'm happy tonight!

[Seamonster]

Ulrich:  I wonder if this would help your toothache.  Is there a product in Germany that mothers rub on their babies' gums when they're teething to ease the pain of the teeth breaking through?  Here, we have a product called Ambesol (I think I spelled that correctly) that is a mild topical anaesthetic that numbs the gums a little to ease the babies' pain.  I've used it on a toothache in the past and it does work, although it's not a strong anaesthetic.  After all it's designed for babies.  One thing, though, don't get any on your tongue.  It will numb the tongue and feels really weird.  

[jeffrey-wimberly]

Well I've been working on the elevator project off and on today. Printed up three wall plates just to see how it would look. Lots of work to do on that yet. My work area is a disaster area!

It's been raining all day, sometimes just a sprinkle, other times coming down in buckets. Radar shows more nasty stuff on the way. Rain chance tonight is 100%, tomorrow 90%. In plain language, wet!

Powers been out several times today. At least today had a reason. Over the last week the power has gone out more than two dozen times and never for long, just a few seconds to a minute then back on so it can work on ruining ac units and fridges. They don't like that on and off stuff one bit and neither do I.

Well it's time for me to call it a night. See y'all tomorrow.

[tcwright973]

Curt - I spent 23 years on the fire department at Greater Pitt Int'l Airport, with about 18 of those years working the ambulance as well as the trucks. I can say without hesitation that it is a proven fact that every whacko in the world has come through the doors at least once in their life. And more often than not, on my duty hours.

Tom

[jeffrey-wimberly]

JimRCGMO

but I guess it's like how fuel injection engines provide a bigger bang in cars (though more controlled...).

SSHHH! Don't tell my vans engine about fuel injection! You'll spoil it. It has a standard non-electronic two barrel carburetor. It wouldn't know how to act with something better.

[rdgk1se3019]

After a hard day at work today I came home and just vegetated........also I do not have my truck right now due to a repair I need......a new power steering pump......and I just fixed the one on my mom`s car a week ago.

A pic of a project I`ve been working on.....an Atlas HO scale RS-1.......you can see more pics of this in the "Diesel Modeling" thread.

.